"The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."—Titus 2:11-1411For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:11‑14).
THIS is the right rendering, as the margin gives it, of this lovely passage. It is not true that salvation has appeared to all; some have not heard it. But grace brings it for all. It is unlimited in its aspect.
Here the first thing is salvation, and how we get it, —by "the grace of God." Then next we have the effect of it, the lessons it affords, —" teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." Then lastly, we get the hope that grace presents, —" looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
It is most important to bear in mind that you cannot learn the lessons that grace would teach, nor look for its hope, unless you know and have received the salvation which it brings. Are you a saved person? Do not say that you cannot know; it is not true. Either you are saved, or you are not.
But, you say, do you mean to tell me I can know I am saved? Certainly! Look here, “the grace of God that bringeth salvation unto all men hath appeared." It is not sold, —it is given. There is a similar passage in Acts 28:2828Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. (Acts 28:28) that will help you to understand it. The Holy Ghost says, —" Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”
Now mark, my friend, the grand part of this passage is, that the sinner is to "hear" of this salvation which God sends. Have you heard it? If not, listen to it now; and if you are wise, you will embrace it on the spot. What is sent? Salvation. Who sends it? God. To whom is it sent? To the Gentiles. If you are a Jew, there is salvation for you; but if you are a Gentile, then thank God there is grace for you, "for there is no difference "(Rom. 3:2222Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (Romans 3:22)).
“The salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and they will hear it." Paul does not say how it is sent in Acts; but in Titus he does, for he tells us that it is “the grace of God that bringeth salvation." Ponder it well, my friend; contrast it with what is due to you and me by nature, — only damnation, if we come into judgment, as the due reward of our deeds. Can you stand in the judgment clay? Certainly not. Even the sweet psalmist of Israel says to the Lord, —" Enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified "(Psa. 143:22And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. (Psalm 143:2))." With thy servant," too, he could say. Are you that?" No," the devil says," not he; he is my servant, he is mine.”
Do not forget that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment;" and the latter is eternal damnation. If the question of your sins be raised, what then? Job says, "If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand" (9:2). Sin is a terrible thing, because it makes God a judge. But judgment is His strange work; and to avoid the necessity of judging us in righteousness, God, in grace, sent His Son to bear sins and sustain the judgment due to them, and thus He provided a righteous basis on which to show forth His salvation. Ponder it; it is God's salvation.
Well, you say, who is it for? It is for Gentiles, for ruined man, for every sinner who will accept it. You have sinned, and have not deserved clemency; you have neither righteousness, nor a bit of title to mercy, but grace brings you salvation. Yes, grace brings it, and Christ personifies it. Moses and the law could tell you what you, ought to do, and to be, —you should be this, and do that,—but grace tells you what Jesus is, and what He did. His love is so real, so perfect to you, that He died on the cross for your sins, and has broken the power of Satan. Jesus brings salvation, this eternal salvation, to you; and He likewise brings the sinner to God. It is the grace of God that brings salvation; and this word, salvation, takes in all the goodness God can show to ruined man.
Christ is God's salvation, for you will see that Acts 13:4747For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. (Acts 13:47) was spoken of Jesus. It is a quotation from Isaiah 49., —"that thou mayest he my salvation unto the ends of the earth." God is telling us here about Jesus, and of what He is to make Him; not telling us what we should do, —that day is gone by. The law tested man for a long time; but let the claims of God be what they might, man never answered to them. You kick against them, though I daresay you think you have a polite mind, or a good mind; yet God says of you, the "carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:77Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7)). The carnal mind cannot be subject to God's law. That is very solemn, and very plain. You cannot keep the law; no, not for five minutes! Suppose I say I saw a most extraordinary thing to-day, and you must neither know what it is, nor want to know,—you immediately say in your heart, if not with your lips, "I wonder what it can be." The flesh is so bad, that the very thing which the law prohibits, is just that which the flesh of man wants to do.
The law says, "Thou shalt not covet." Oh! you say, there is no harm in looking at this,—something you see, perhaps, in a shop window; then you wish to have it. No harm, do you say? You have coveted, that is all; for you have wished to have what is not yours; and it is written, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:1010For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10)). It takes a very small spark to kindle a fire, and that just illustrates what the flesh is. The simple inference is, that I am lost. Man is ruined by sin, unable to keep the law, and is treated and addressed as utterly lost. How does the Gospel address us? As lost; not as man thinks of himself, but as God sees him to be.
People make a great difference in the way they think of their bodies and of their souls. Nine people out of ten think their bodies much worse than they are; but they do not like to face the solemn reality as to their souls, that they are lost. The grace of God "bringeth salvation to all men," so it is clear that all are lost. That is a sweeping sentence, you say. It is a large enough net, and the mesh sufficiently small to catch you, my friend. I daresay that you are a member of some religious denomination; that you judged that you were in a fit state to be thus received simply because you belonged to a respectable family. Your parents are respectable and religious, and you wished to be like them; or you wanted your child baptized, so you became a member of some church in order to this. All this is not salvation, my friend; and it is salvation you need, as a poor, lost, guilty sinner.
The Gospel net acts in this way: God comes down and says to men, “You are lost in sin, and I bring you my salvation." Oh, grace is a charming thing! You and I do not in any wise deserve its actings; but that is just how grace shines in its true character. Grace is God acting from His own heart, and doing what is worthy of Himself, and a credit to His Son,—viz., saving worthless sinners by the blood and finished work of Jesus.
There are four lovely characters in which the salvation of God is presented in the New Testament.
1. a Great Salvation
The first of these wonderful characteristics we find in Hebrews. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him" (Heb. 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3)). The Lord Himself was the One who first unfolded the Gospel. He said, —" God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved "(John 3:16, 1716For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16‑17)). “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:99I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)). Jesus began to witness of this salvation, now the Holy Ghost is the witness; and I tell you, as Christ's ambassador, that you can know it.
But first, there is this question: How shall you escape if you neglect it? What is the characteristic here? It is a great salvation; a little salvation never could have saved me. Yes, friend, it needs a great salvation to save either you or me. It is a great salvation to lift a sinner up from the depths of sin into the highest heights of glory. You may have thought little of it for many a long day. Have you not neglected it? “Well, I can-not say I am saved." Then you are not saved. But salvation is at your door,—salvation from hell, and which would bring you into God's presence, cleansed and justified; and you have neglected it, if you have not taken it.
If I were go to your house one day and see a letter lying in the letter-boy, and say, " See, there is a letter for you from a great friend of yours," would you say, " Oh, I know it is there, I shall read it by-and-by "? Should I go again, weeks after, and see it still there, all covered with dust now, would you still say, "Oh, I know, I mean to read it some day"? You know well that you would not treat your friend like that, yet that is how you treat God's salvation. How will you escape, sinner? God sent this salvation, my dear reader, and you have never thought of it. "Oh," you say, "I go to church regularly.” But that is not salvation; if there were no churches to go to, what would you do then? “Then I should not go." Ah you see you do not care a bit about it. Better bow down before God now, and own that you have neglected the salvation of your precious soul up till this present moment.
Though it was the wondrous love of Christ that led Him to the cross, and though you have known it long, it has never led you to His feet, nor broken your heart till now. You cannot deny that it is a great salvation to be saved from the blackness of darkness, and from hell, where your conscience will lash you forever. Is it not a great salvation to be brought back to God, washed, cleansed, and accepted in the Man at His right hand? Oh it is a great salvation less there is not. You either stand in Christ, in all His acceptance, or you do not.
2. a Common Salvation
What is meant by a common salvation? Is it poor, or meager? No, it is free to all who are born into this world. The Holy Ghost is proclaiming it on every hand. To use an illustration, suppose a land where rain is much wanted, the ground is parched and dry, vegetation is dying, a hot sun is blazing week after week; at last a cloud appears, the wind rises, it looks as if rain were coining, people hope and pray that it may come. The cloud bursts and the rain comes down in torrents, soaking the dry earth, and giving new life to all. Who gets it; the prince alone? No; the peasant equally. The man of five hundred acres? No; the one with only five also; all get it; it is a common blessing for everybody. You might see the child come running out with its patty-pan to catch some that it may drink, and you see the mother comes too. You see all are suffering, and it is a common rain, it is a common salvation. Jude says, “I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation." There is salvation for all who will have it; it is a common salvation. I know you do not believe it, but it is true. You may have led a careless life, but you are brought face to face with eternal realities, face to face with Christ, and salvation is brought to you now. "Oh," but you say, "I have been an awful sinner." Yes, I know, but it is a common salvation, and it has saved a Mary Magdalene, and the thief on the cross; it has saved Saul the chief of sinners, and I suppose saved Manasseh, who made Jerusalem to run with blood; it has saved countless sinners in ages past, and I can say it has saved me. So the question is, Who will not be saved? Who will neglect it?
Let me implore you, dear reader, to receive salvation now; do not neglect it. Do not be like some shipwrecked men. Their ship was dashed on our coast; they were seen by those on shore, but no life-boat could be put to sea; so the rocket apparatus was got out, the gun was trained and fired, and the rocket carried a line through the air and over the bulwarks of the ship, which would have saved every soul on board,—all they needed to do was to secure the line, and by it draw a larger rope on board. As those on shore watched and saw the line landed safely on board, hearty cheers went up, Hurray! they will be saved. But what did they see? A knife! Then the line was cut. Oh fools oh fools! said they on shore. What do they do now? Again the gun is fired; again the rocket carries the line to the ship—the rocket of salvation; surely they will learn the lesson this time. But no. Again they take a knife and cut the line. They were foreigners, and (just as you think God is against you) they thought the men on shore were enemies and wanted to murder them. Their unbelief and folly they paid dearly for. Soon their ship broke up, all were drowned, and their corpses drifted ashore, witnessing to their madness in refusing salvation when they might have been saved. You do not believe, and they did not, and you are like them. Take care lest the end be similar!
3. a Present Salvation
But you say, "When am I to get it?" Turn to 2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2). There we have another beautiful characteristic, " I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." God wants to save you, and the Holy Ghost says, Now. It is a present salvation. What did Zaccheus do that day when Jesus saw him up in the sycamore tree, and said, “Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must abide at thy house "? Zaccheus “made haste "; do you the same. He was lost when he was up in the tree, and he was a saved man when he came down to Jesus; and when he got inside the house he knew he was a saved man, for the Lord said, " This day is salvation come to this house " (Luke 19:99And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. (Luke 19:9)). You were a lost man when you began to read this paper, perhaps; but you say, I believe in the Lord, I receive by faith His salvation, I now give my heart to Jesus. If this be so, you may thank God now that you are a saved man.
There was once a religious building, and a babe was brought there in infant clothing; a man stood there, who took up the babe in his arms and said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." He had never seen this babe before, and never saw Him that we know of again; but he did what you ought to do, he took the first opportunity he had of receiving Him (Luke 2: 28-30). Oh, sinner, believe it; now is the day of salvation; now, this moment, you may have salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and more than this, if you once get it you will never lose it. Why? Turn to Heb. 5:9,9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Hebrews 5:9) there you will find another beautiful characteristic of this salvation.
4. Eternal Salvation
“He became the author of eternal salvation to all that obey him." He says," Come unto me;" and if any poor soul says, "Lord, I come," that soul obeys Him. See, my friend, He will never give you up, never let you slip; it is an eternal salvation. The day will come when you will be called from this world, but He will be with you, cheering you, sustaining you. Should your eyes close here, who will be the first they will open on? Jesus, the One you have known here all along.
Unsaved reader, your life hitherto has been a great mistake, but now you have just got to take Christ, simply to receive Him; you have nothing to do but receive Christ as your Saviour, and God's salvation is yours. The sinner wants to buy salvation, but God gives it. If anybody gives you a present, say a basket of grapes, what do you do? “Oh, I say, Thank you." No; there is something you do before that, it is to take it, and then say Thank you. What did Simeon do when he saw the infant Jesus? Why, he took Him.
Thus you see God's salvation is a great salvation, a common salvation, a present salvation, and an eternal salvation. Hallelujah! You are saved if you believe in Jesus, and He will never give you up.
Now, just a few words on the lessons grace teaches us; we must go to school first before we learn lessons. The door is salvation; you come in by the door, and you see written up, No unsaved person comes in here. Christ says, “I am the door, by me if any man enter in he shall be saved." How long does it take to be saved? Less time than entering a door. If you only look to the blessed Saviour, as you look you are saved. Yes, you are saved. But having saved us, grace then gives us some most precious lessons. “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." You cannot do the things now that you used to do. You are just like poor Joe with his banjo. He got converted one day, and went home and took down his banjo from the wall, broke it in pieces and put it in the fire. His wife said," What are you doing, Joe?" “Oh," he said," I am saved, and the banjo suited me before, but I cannot keep it now." Quite right, Joe.
If you, my dear fellow-believer, are saying, "What is the harm in this thing or in that," you have got to burn the banjo. When a man is converted, he leads quite a different life from what he did before. He governs himself now. He might have been very imperious and impetuous once, but all that is changed. You scarcely know him now. I see some men converted whom I used to know long ago; I could scarcely tell they were the same men, except their faces are the same, but the expression is altered.
“Live soberly,"—that is the life within. Self-restraint, —that is a very good thing. "Righteously,"—that is life without. There must be uprightness. "There he is preaching," says the world, "but he is owing me a lot of money." There must be none of that sort of thing. Live "righteously." None of the sharp tricks of the world in your business. You may have to suffer for it. "They that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Better suffer for doing what is right than for what is wrong. A girl said to me one day, "I am afraid I am not up to that, sir." "How so?" I asked. Well," said she," I am in a shop where I have got to sell gloves at 3s. 6d. per pair, that I know are only 2S. 6d. gloves." The Christian may have to suffer for righteousness sake; but let him keep a good conscience, and then he will walk godly—that is a walk for God.
You say, "Do not expect too much." Well, begin at home; there what we are comes out. Live soberly; keep in order the temper; keep in order the tongue. Live like Jesus did in this world. His life should be reproduced in the Christian. But are these lessons learned quickly? I have been learning them for twenty-one years, and find I have to learn them yet; but grace goes on teaching and teaching.
“Looking for that blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ." Have you suffered for His sake? Oh, what a reward you will get then. I daresay you will know what the last day of the term means. Well, Paul says, you must keep your eye on the last day of the term, when the prizes will be given away. Everything done for Jesus will get a prize in that day,—even a cup of cold water will not be forgotten. The Lord says, “Well clone, good and faithful servant." It is not "Well done, successful servant.”
The first thing grace does is to save me; then it teaches me how to walk, and to keep my eye fixed on Christ's coming, " looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Dear reader, may you be saved by, walk with, and wait for, the Lord Jesus.
W. T. P. W.